1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to algae cultivation systems, and more specifically to systems and methods for maintaining the dominance and increasing the biomass production of Nannochloropsis in an algae cultivation system.
2. Description of Related Art
Nannochloropsis cultures are subject to contamination by competing species and predators. Optimizing an algae cultivation system for the growth of Nannochloropsis to increase its resistance to competing species and predators results in fewer collapses, or crashes, of the Nannochloropsis culture. The maintenance of a stable mass culture of Nannochloropsis maximizes the accumulation of biomass. This accumulation of biomass is highly desirable for the production of biofuels and higher value products, such as, but not limited to, animal feed, fish meal formulations, carotenoids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (“PUFAs”), and products for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The exemplary embodiments described herein accomplish these objectives.